NATO's military operation in Afghanistan will succeed the alliance's chief said Tue, urging member countries not to lose heart despite a strengthening Taliban insurgency & unexpectedly high casualties. Speaking to a forum before a 2-day summit, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer insisted the alliance will prevail in its first mission outside Europe. He also expressed hopes that by 2008, Afghan forces could begin taking over security tasks. "I would hope that by 2008, we'll have made considerable progress ... (with) effective & trusted Afghan security forces gradually taking control," he said. Although De Hoop Scheffer predicted that by 2008, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also will be able to reduce its presence in Kosovo, where about 17,000 peacekeepers are deployed. The Soviets tried that, so did the British, they still lost. If he thinks the Afghans will change and they will learn to love the Occupiers, he must be sampling too much of Afghanistan’s main crop ... http://www.foxnews.com

Pope Benedict backed Ankara's EU entry bid and said Islam was a religion of peace on Tuesday, according to Turkey's prime minister, in a bid to soothe rows over his views in the mostly Muslim state. Benedict received a red carpet welcome on arrival in Turkey with Tayyip Erdogan greeting him at the steps of the plane -- a break from protocol and a show of warmth from a leader who initially said he was too busy to meet the 79-year-old Pontiff. Benedict, who before his 2005 election as pope had opposed Turkey's EU ambitions, made his comments during their talks, Erdogan said before leaving for a NATO summit in Riga. "He said we are not political but we wish for Turkey to join the EU," the prime minister told journalists....http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061128/ts_nm/pope_turkey_dc

Pope Benedict XVI today stepped into the debate on whether Turkey should be part of the EU by apparently declaring his support for Ankara's membership bid. After brief talks with the pontiff, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told a news conference that he had asked him to back Turkey's EU bid. "He said we are not political but we wish for Turkey to join the EU," Mr Erdogan said. In voicing support for Turkey's bid for EU membership, the Pope has ensured a lively start to the four-day visit - his first to a Muslim country. Before becoming Pope last year, he had said that Turkey should build ties with the Islamic world rather than the EU. While the pontiff's U-turn will no doubt please his hosts, it is likely to spark irritation in some European capitals - particularly Paris and Berlin - that are less than enthusiastic about Turkish membership, currently the subject of difficult negotiations....http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,,1959066,00.html

Bush has berated Nato members reluctant to send troops to Afghan hotspots, demanding they must accept "difficult assignments". Speaking ahead of a Nato meeting in Latvia, Mr Bush said members must provide the forces the alliance needs. Several Nato nations have caveats that keep their troops out of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan, where Taleban forces are strengthening. The difficulties of the Afghan mission are due to dominate the two-day summit. The US president, who led the campaign to topple the Taleban regime five years ago, echoed the earlier words of Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. But the Dutchman had also sought to strike an upbeat note, saying that the Afghan operation - Nato's first outside Europe - was "mission possible", and that it might even be able to start pulling out from 2008. "We need to be frank about the risks," he said, "but we also need to avoid over-dramatising."...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6191504.stm

US troops must leave Iraq if security is to be restored, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said during talks with the Iraqi president. The instability of Iraq was detrimental to all countries in the region and the US had no hope of improving the situation, Ayatollah Khamenei said. President Jalal Talabani is in Tehran to try to secure Iran's help in curbing the escalating violence in Iraq. The US is also interested in involving Iran, but it is unclear at what price. On his way to a Nato summit in Latvia, President Bush said in order for the US to open a dialogue with Iran, the Iranians would have to "verifiably suspend" its nuclear fuel enrichment programme, which could be used in weapons production. But although Washington may find it awkward seeing Iran as a growing powerbroker in Iraq, correspondents say, direct talks between Iran and Iraq to resolve the crisis may to some extent let the Bush administration off the hook...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6190662.stm

Ethiopian forces have exchanged fire with Islamists in a strategic town north of Somalia's capital, officials of the powerful Islamic movement say. The Union of Islamic Courts chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed told a rally in Mogadishu that Ethiopian forces began shelling Bandiradley at 0300 GMT. Earlier this month, Islamists captured the town near semi-autonomous Puntland, which has strong ties to Ethiopia. There is no independent confirmation of the fighting and no Ethiopian reaction. Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the Islamists represented a "clear threat" to his country which he said was prepared for conflict following repeated Islamist calls for a holy war. The UIC, which is backed by Ethiopia's rival, Eritrea, and now controls much of southern Somalia, has denied claims by Ethiopia and the weak Somali transitional government that it has links to al-Qaeda....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6191536.stm